Dallas hospital: U.S. Ebola patient now in critical condition

(Reuters) – The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States is now in critical condition, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said on Saturday.

The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia, had previously been described as being in serious condition.

Most hospitals describe patients as being in serious condition when their vital signs are unstable and outside normal limits. These patients are critically ill and their chance of survival is low.

Patients in critical condition have vital signs that are highly unstable and well outside normal limits. They may be unconscious and death can be imminent. They are very critically ill and their chance of survival is small.